Donne, John: Poetry

All of Donne's verse—his love sonnets and his religious and philosophical poems—is distinguished by a remarkable blend of passion and reason. His love poetry treats the breadth of the experience of loving, emphasizing, in such poems as “The Ecstasie,” the root of spiritual love in physical love. The devotional poems and sermons reveal a profound concern with death, decay, damnation, and the possibility of the soul's transcendent union with God.

Original, witty, erudite, and often obscure, Donne's style is characterized by a brilliant use of paradox, hyperbole, and imagery. His most famous poems include “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” “Go and catch a falling star,” “Hymn to God the Father,” and the sonnet to death (“Death be not proud”). Neglected for 200 years, Donne was rediscovered by 20th-century critics. His work has had a profound influence on a number of poets Including W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Poetry
• Life and Works
• Bibliography

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